Review: Doja Cat’s ‘Scarlet’ is a Party on Fire

Doja Cat
Scarlet
4.5/5 stars

Doja Cat released her fourth studio LP, Scarlet, a new 17-track album, which includes the recent single “Paint The Town Red,” and recently hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. But what does the entirety of the album say to its listeners?

Doja Cat’s new record opens with her new hit single, which features a sample of Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By.” The rapper, who is set to go on tour beginning on Halloween, opens eyes and ears with the new single. Connected to history (thanks to the Warwick sample) and featuring Doja Cat’s biting lyricism, there’s a reason why the song has exploded, garnering tens of millions of streams. It’s one to listen to on repeat.

The 27-year-old, Los Angeles-born Doja Cat (aka Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini) plays up her devilish side on the new LP, wanting to be famous, not polite, she says. In fact, she follows up the hit track with “Demons,” a club banger. Doja Cat asks, How my demons look now that my pockets full? But the snarling confidence doesn’t end there. Track three on the LP, “Wet Vagina,” shows Doja Cat participating in the sexual pop of predecessors like (her hero) Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Megan THEE Stallion. I bring the drip with wet vagina, sings Doja with an auto-tune.

Song four, “F**k The Girls,” is a middle finger to the world. “Ouchies” harkens back to the Beastie Boys, that energetic, frenetic style of rapping. If attitude could be bottled, Doja would be Pepsi Cola here. And the album quenches all thirsts—it’s a party album, one to listen to so you can feel that cathartic energy expulsion, and a stellar empowering rap record. A baby doll’s voice with vampire teeth.

Scarlet is a pop album, and in a way, whatever you want it to be—a chameleon record. Sexy, biting, talented, creative. Of the moment. And though thousands of hours went into it, there is an effortless quality to Doja Cat’s vocal delivery. Signified by the song “97,” which opens with the line, Looks like we don’t give a shit. If the album suffers at all, it’s that some of the songs can sound similar, sharing the same repetitive percussion sounds. But many albums suffer from that. And when someone releases 17 tracks, it can be hard to have each be a distinct treasure.

That aside, the record is a breath of fresh air—like the song “Attention,” a display of distilled talent on which the rapper highlights her vulnerability. And “Balut” is a stellar old-school rap song. Indeed, Doja Cat is just what the world needs today. A sharp knife to cut through the blizzard of sounds and styles out there. But at the same time a fiery party, something you can witness from the solar system. With the blazing soundtrack to accompany it.

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for MTV